Weekly Tarot

June 27-July 3, 2022:
Knight of Pentacles

What is opportunity, and when does it knock? It never knocks. You can wait a whole lifetime, listening, hoping, and you will hear no knocking. None at all. You are opportunity, and you must knock on the door leading to your destiny.
Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

This week, the magical, beautiful New Moon in Her own sign of Cancer arrives. So who will be our ally in this annual marker moment? Riding up to oversee our relationships with wealth, health, and home in the material world, let us welcome the Knight of Pentacles.

As you probably know, the Court cards of the Tarot are the “people” cards. They usually represent an actual person — either ourselves, or someone that is interacting with us. Less often, they may simply be abstract personality traits we are directed to notice.

The Knights of the Tarot are the champions, the energetic and often forceful movers and shakers of the Court. However, because the Pentacles are ruled by the element of Earth, he (or she) is methodical, calm, and even a bit conservative. “Slow and steady wins the race,” would be their motto.

So here we have a Knight that is a sturdy, well-grounded person, and who is rarely in a hurry.

Unlike the other Knights, who are all in motion, this one sits quietly on his horse, looking out across the fields that await planting. He holds his Pentacle much like the Page, only more firmly in his hand. This is his current prosperity as well as his investment for the future.

The Knight’s helmet and horse are adorned with greenery, reiterating his connection to the Earth, perhaps even the ancient God of the Land, the Green Man, perfect for this magical time of the burgeoning, fertile Earth (above the equator).

Thus, he is an ally for wise collaboration and care for Earth’s bounty and resources.

Dedicated and Diligent

Because he will never start something he isn’t determined to finish, he can be cautious and take a long while to make up his mind.

But once committed, he is rock-solid. He refuses to acknowledge obstacles, instead taking a dogged approach in the pursuit of his goals.

A hard-worker, he has tremendous stamina and dedication. Every job is always completed down to the last detail. He never multitasks or leaves anything dangling unfinished. He’s careful and prudent, never wasteful.

Work comes first for him and he can be inflexible about little details. He doesn’t much like change or risk and might sometimes tend towards pessimism (in the name of being “realistic”). And certainly, his challenge is to be swift, flexible, and more lighthearted when needed.

To a fiery Wands type, or brainy Swords people, the Knight of Pentacles might seem a bit stodgy and dull. True, he’s not known for his speed, charm, charisma or intellect, and he is seldom the life of the party.

But he is practical, direct, and down-to-earth. He’s the level-headed one you want nearby in any kind of emergency. And when he gets around to giving his heart, it is for keeps.

Moon of Nurturing and Mothering

On Tuesday (or Wednesday, depending on your time zone), the 2022 New Moon in Cancer arrives (in tropical astrology). The Moon is ruled by Cancer, sign of mothering, family, security, and home. Thus, there is extra Moon Magic at this time.

Astrologer Annie Heese notes:

The New Moon in Cancer is a good time to commit to personal goals that express the positive energies of the sign of the Crab. These include honoring our deepest, most irrational and intimate, feelings; recognizing the sense of security and safety we derive from whatever it is we call home; allowing ourselves to accept support and offering support to others; and starting a project aimed at improving our domestic lives or a major long-term venture.

With this potent Cancer energy, we have the chance to make important changes in our lives that will benefit us well beyond this Moon cycle.

It’s time to make some plans and set the stage for reaping the rewards from our new beginnings, as little or big as they may be, in approximately two weeks’ time after the Full Moon occurs.

We might concentrate on new ways to enhance family life and domestic affairs, and to build up our feelings of security and safety.

Because this New Moon is tightly square Jupiter, we should watch for overdoing, exaggeration, and misjudgment or false starts.

An excellent reason to emulate the Knight’s cautious, systematic approach.

Our wise friend Lorna Bevan adds:

It’s a time to pause and wait for the energy planted in the Spring to reach full bloom. If the Spring represents action, the Summer represents patience to trust that, with Cancerian nurturing, the seeds you planted during April and May’s eclipses will grow.

At the beautiful New Moon in Cancer on June 28/29th when the Sun is aligned with both the Galactic Centre – our Homing Signal – and Jupiter in Aries, ritual is everything when you are working to amplify and manifest the wave of incoming Creator energy.

It doesn’t need to be dramatic, just mindful moments of acknowledgment and attention:

• cleanse your space – the ritual of purification

• light a candle – the ritual of sacred fire

• observe and journal your emotions – the ritual of self-discovery

• spend time in nature and in water – the ritual of embodiment

• meditate in the Sun – the ritual of grounding

This inward attention is supported by the Knight’s thoughtful demeanor, as he chooses his next moves.

He is the spirit of savvy pragmatism, embodied in his cautious wait-and-see attitude. He knows exactly how to create abundance and how to protect what he values (including health and finances). And thus, he knows that it is folly to rush.

Approaching Destruction and Rebirth

For many of us, the bills may be piling up as the economy staggers along. The stress of juggling economic well-being is amplified by the warnings of science that our environment is moving towards a breaking point for our civilization as we’ve understood it.

There is no way around it – despite what you are shown by the consumer-driven media, there is no longer a sustainable “normal.” And don’t even get me started on what is happening here on the political Titanic.

And yet, as you and I know in our hearts, there is much good to be found in the ending of a paradigm that was built on the rape of the Earth, racism, misogyny, and which requires that countless numbers are stuck in misery and poverty, just to feed the addictions of the entitled.

As we approach the American natal return next week, Lorna urgently reminds us that the United States is now deep in the “wrecking ball” adjustment triggered by our Pluto Return. She writes (emphasis is mine):

On February 20th 2022, Pluto [made] an exact conjunction to its natal degree at 27° Capricorn in the 1776 US Sibley Chart; then remains within range for several years afterwards before Pluto goes on to oppose the US karmic South Node of Fate in 2028; then the US Moon in Aquarius in 2040, affecting generations to come.

It’s important to remember that this alignment is similar to a New Moon, initiating new cycles and planting seeds. So while its possible there could be some important symbolic “seed-events” happening in February 2022, the full effects of America’s Pluto Return will probably not reveal themselves for years. This is only just the start of what will gradually evolve into a complete identity shift.

Pluto is the planet of death and rebirth- the force that crumbles the outworn to ashes so that the green shoots of the new can grow. It acts as a wrecking ball.

With repercussions for all of us no matter where we live in the world, the USA as a nation is being shaken by the seismic tremors of its first Pluto Return since 1776 and the Founding Fathers in Earth sign Capricorn – symbolising the land and environment itself.

The US will be forced to look back to see whether the original intention set for the nation is still being upheld or if it needs to be re-written.

We know from the history of much older nations that a Pluto Return always delivers some kind of reckoning by bringing everything hidden to the surface. In what is a perfect storm, at the same time as firefighting escalating climate crises, the US’ ageing infrastructure is crumbling as its political/economic systems reel from crisis to crisis with debt, deficits, defaults and downgrades.

Like the Knight of Pentacles, it is time to appraise our treasures carefully and follow his example. He sits his steed hands-free, in harmony with the forces of Nature. And he knows that the only way to seed good fortune is to align with the natural rhythms of the Earth Herself.

Time to Assess

Is there a situation with your health, home, or work that demands a guarded response? The Knight will not risk what is most valuable to him because of someone else’s timetable or agenda.

Pause when you need to, and don’t get pushed. Consider your options before you act, and insist on integrity and candor from others.

Being vigilant regarding your material security is always a smart choice, but is especially wise during these unprecedented times.

Is there a project around the house or garden that you’ve been considering? He certainly gives his blessing to this, particularly if it pays off in “sweat equity.”

On the other hand, have you been working too hard? Or could it be possible that you are being a little too stubborn on some matter to do with physical resources?

The Knight of Pentacles may tend to believe his way is always right, because he takes such care doing his homework before making a move. So, he reasons, how could he be wrong? And yet, change is what life is all about.

He urges you to tend your resources, protect your assets, and share what you have with gratitude and care. Stop waiting for the knock. Instead, take your resources in hand, assess what you have, and prepare for changes.

Respect and love the fertile places that are your very own. Take care of one another, and tend the life before you with loving care. Prepare for a different understanding of wealth and bounty.

May you tend your garden well, making wholesome, strong choices that feed the peaceful welfare of all, especially those yet to come. May you be the opportunity you have most sought.